The invention relates to a system for joining foam components. More particularly, the invention relates to a system which allows a surface of a foam xe2x80x98blockxe2x80x99 to be joined to a surface of another foam xe2x80x98blockxe2x80x99.
Although foam, especially polystyrene and polyurethane, holds great promise as a building material, its limitation lies in the difficulty of interfacing with other building materials. For example, common fasteners such as screws and nails cannot be used to attach other building materials to foam. They xe2x80x98pull outxe2x80x99 from the foam just as easily as they penetrate the foam.
The most common way in which foam is attached to other surfaces is with adhesives. The adhesives, however, only adhere to the outer surface of the foam. Accordingly, the strength of the joint relies upon the internal structural integrity of the foam. Such a joint may present reasonable resistance to shearing forces, but cannot resist much torsional loading against the joint. Such forces will have a tendency to xe2x80x98peel awayxe2x80x99 the foam at the joint. In addition, even in a suitable installation, adhesives have a tendency to weaken with age.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,929 discloses a system which allows a building material to be anchored to foam by inserting a metal channel into the foam, and then anchoring the building material to the metal channel using ordinary fastening devices, such as screws or nails. This system allows a variety of other building materials to be fastened to the foam using screws or nails, by fastening to the metal channel therein.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention as disclosed hereafter.
It is an object of the invention to produce an attachment system which allows two or more foam shapes to be rigidly attached to each other, so as to enhance the useability of foam as a building material for innumerable products and structures. Accordingly, the system employs mateable connection devices, which are partially submerged within the foam shapes and are subsequently mated to attach the foam shapes.
It is another object of the invention to provide an attachment system that has superior strength for ensuring a sound connection between foam shapes. Accordingly, each connection device has a transversely extending flange, which significantly anchors the connection device within the foam and resists pulling out of the surface.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an attachment system which allows foam shapes to be fabricated so as to allow them to be optionally attached at a later time. Accordingly, by one embodiment of the invention, two female connection devices are employed, each is submerged beneath a surface of one of the foam shapes with its open end oriented toward the surface and located substantially at the surface. A lance is inserted into and secures within both openings to secure the female connection devices together, and thus secures the foam shapes with their surfaces abutting each other. The open ends can even be concealed immediately below the surface of the foam shapes, so that they are only subsequently exposed if needed to attach to another foam shape.
It is a further object of the invention to provide superior tensile strength at the joint between the foam shapes which resists detachment of the connection devices. Accordingly, by at least one embodiment, one of the connection devices has a male component which secures directly in the open end of a female connection device, providing a direct attachment between the connection devices.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide superior anchoring within the foam. Accordingly, by one embodiment of the invention, the transverse portion of the connection device has a complex shape, such as a xe2x80x98dutch hatxe2x80x99 shape, which increases the surface area of the foam against which the connection device is anchored and distributes tensile forces in several directions.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a system which has superior strength, yet is inexpensively manufactured. Accordingly, the components of the connection system can each be formed from one or two pieces material-meeting the dual goals of structural integrity and inexpensive fabrication.
The invention is a system for joining blocks of foam, each block having a surface, using a connector system. The connector system including a first and second connector which each have a lateral flange for securing within one of the blocks of foam, beneath and parallel to the surface. The connector system has a mechanism for joining the first connector to the second connector to secure the blocks of foam together while holding the surfaces of the blocks closely against each other.
To the accomplishment of the above and related objects the invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the invention, limited only by the scope of the claims.